Review and Giveaway: The Noticer

Title:  The Noticer

Author:  Andy Andrews

Review Copy Provided by: Phenix & Phenix

About the Book:  Orange Beach, Alabama is a simple town filled with simple people. But like all humans on the planet, the good folks of Orange Beach have their share of problems - marriages teetering on the brink of divorce, young adults giving up on life, business people on the verge of bankruptcy, as well as the many other obstacles that life seems to dish out to the masses.

Fortunately, when things look the darkest - a mysterious man named Jones has a miraculous way of showing up. An elderly man with white hair, of indiscriminate age and race, wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt and leather flip flops carrying a battered old suitcase, Jones is a unique soul. Communicating what he calls "a little perspective," Jones explains that he has been given a gift of noticing things that others miss. "Your time on this earth is a gift to be used wisely," he says. "Don't squander your words or your thoughts. Consider even the simplest action you take, for your lives matter beyond measure…and they matter forever."

Jones speaks to that part in everyone that is yearning to understand why things happen and what we can do about it.
 
My Review:  This was such an inspirational little book!  I say little because it is only 156 pages, but in those pages, there are so many simple, yet profound truths.  Andy Andrews takes one man, Jones, and puts him in the middle of others' lives.  He pops in and out of those people's lives and reveals to them things that help them become a better person.  He teaches them to "notice" what's around them, to "notice" things in other people, and to "notice" things about themselves. 

What he tries to get each of them to do is to have a different perspective about things.  Take for example, Andy's story.  Jones and Andy are having lunch.  They are under the pier eating vienna sausages and sardines.  Jones asks Andy what he's eating and where.  "Okay.  I am eating sardines and Vienna sausages.  In the sand."  Jones says, "Incidentally, you ate sardines and Vienna sausages in the sand.  I dined on surf and turf with an ocean view.  It's all about perspective."

Some of the other messages that come from this book are the 4 ways that people communicate love, the difference between a mistake and a choice, focusing on things that can be controlled, and others.  Jones is like a modern day angel walking into people's lives, helping them to change something about themselves or their life, and then walking out mysteriously.  He is always there when least expected and then gone when he needs to move on.  Never aging, he is known by many.

I really enjoyed this book.  I read it in one evening and will reread it to take more time for the meaning to really sink in.  It is also a book I will be gifting to others, not because I think they need some perspective, but because it is a great story with wonderful meaning.  I am so glad that I chose to take on The Noticer and The Noticer Project this month.  Both have truly been a blessing in my life!

This would be a great book for a book club as there is a Reader's Guide at the end with discussion questions.  These are also good questions for doing some personal reflection.  
     
For a list of other bloggers participating in this tour, see Phenix Publicity's blog post.
 
They were gracious enough to send me 2 hardback copies of this wonderful book to giveaway to 2 of my readers.  For your chance to win one, please visit The Noticer Project and tell me one thing that you learned.  To earn extra entries, become a new follower or tell me that you already follow this blog (+1), follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (+2), blog about this giveaway (+3), or visit one of the other blogs on the tour and let me know which one you visited and something they said. (+5).
 
This giveaway is open to US and Canada addresses only.  It begins today and will run for 1 week, ending at midnight on Monday, May 4.  The winners will be drawn randomly, emailed, and posted on this blog on Tuesday, May 5.  The winners will have 48 to contact me with their mailing information.